Saturday September 12, Maple Lake/Paw Paw Woods
We had a small group for our first brush pile burn of the season, on a day warm and sunny enough to make you appreciate a bit of breeze and a little shade. We were within allowed temps for burning, but approaching the top limit.
We mostly were cutting honeysuckle, with Jim again hitting a few small trees with his chainsaw. The fire wasn't hard to start and only needed occasional coaxing along the way, which sometimes is needed when all the fuel is smaller branches that burn quickly. Nobody was disappointed when Joe called it a day right at noon - a couple had already departed. Holiday weekend, ya know.
The Case of the Disappearing Swallowtail Caterpillars
Late spring we put a fennel plant in a pot. Last week I wanted to water the plant pots, and discovered eight (8!) black swallow caterpillars clinging to the leaves. Didn't realize fennel was in the carrot family and a host for these.
I didn't think the plant had enough remaining leaves to feed eight little cats and pulled some dill from a couple plants in the back of the garden. Two days later I checked and four caterpillars had vanished. One day later a fifth was gone.
Yesterday all were gone.So was every last leaf from the fennel plant, though they didn't eat much of the dill. Ate it all and took off (or were devoured by predators; I prefer the former and expect the latter.
We had a small group for our first brush pile burn of the season, on a day warm and sunny enough to make you appreciate a bit of breeze and a little shade. We were within allowed temps for burning, but approaching the top limit.
We mostly were cutting honeysuckle, with Jim again hitting a few small trees with his chainsaw. The fire wasn't hard to start and only needed occasional coaxing along the way, which sometimes is needed when all the fuel is smaller branches that burn quickly. Nobody was disappointed when Joe called it a day right at noon - a couple had already departed. Holiday weekend, ya know.
The Case of the Disappearing Swallowtail Caterpillars
Late spring we put a fennel plant in a pot. Last week I wanted to water the plant pots, and discovered eight (8!) black swallow caterpillars clinging to the leaves. Didn't realize fennel was in the carrot family and a host for these.
I didn't think the plant had enough remaining leaves to feed eight little cats and pulled some dill from a couple plants in the back of the garden. Two days later I checked and four caterpillars had vanished. One day later a fifth was gone.
Yesterday all were gone.So was every last leaf from the fennel plant, though they didn't eat much of the dill. Ate it all and took off (or were devoured by predators; I prefer the former and expect the latter.
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